Paul Kubin, MS, MFT, PA-C, writing for Inside PA Training, 5 Reasons a Physician Assistant Career is Wrong for You:
Your interest in medicine is more about the science than about caring for patients. Don’t get me wrong – as a PA, you’ll need to know and work with plenty of science. And PAs aren’t the only medical providers who care about their patients. But as a PA, your patients are a larger focus. Your communication with them and your ability to educate and counsel them about their health and treatment are your “magic bullets,” not your specialized knowledge of biochemical pathways or fluid dynamics.
This speaks to me. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of science. I wasn’t a science geek in grade school. I didn’t participate in the science fair. Don’t get me wrong: I respect science and can enjoy it. I actually look forward to learning biology and chemistry after having worked in healthcare for nearly ten years. I can finally see the application of it all. My end result though is exactly what Paul is talking about above. I’m all about people. And I’ve always enjoyed teaching; I’m just not knowledgeable enough on many subjects to get the ability to teach often. I’ve always enjoyed translating ideas into layman’s terms. I’ve always felt I’ve done a good job at not assuming any knowledge of an end user. Back when first learned Adobe Photoshop, I created a tutorial aptly titled So Easy a Caveman Can Do It. I had many comments on how easy it was to follow. You can still view it on my Deviant Art page 12 years later.
Stephen Pasquini, PA-C, writing for The Physician Assistant Life:
I honestly believe you can be better at compassion when you are more grounded. Having a life outside of work justifies life, it makes for a happy person which translates to better patient care.
I realized after quite a bit of soul-searching that I never really needed to be a Doctor, but I wanted to feel like one.
If you are on this journey to being a health care provider, just know that life exists beyond MD. It is a beautiful life, and it has fulfilled every single one of my dreams of being an excellent health care provider.
“PA is the sweet spot! Where life and medicine meet in the middle.”